System and method for distributing audio-based data tags

• US 9,569,716 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2014
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2014
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lidong Qu
• Original Assignee: Lidong Qu
• Inventors: Qu, Lidong
• Primary Examiner(s): Marshall, Christle I
• Assistant Examiner(s): Habib, Asifa
• Application Number:
  US14/418,886
• Publication Number:
  US 20160314391A1
• Time in Patent Office: 882 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/433 using audio data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/16 Sound input; Sound output speech processing G10L
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/165 Management of the audio stream, e.g. setting of volume, audio stream path
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method for distributing audio based data tags in the field of computer technologies. The system includes an audio processing device, an audio playing device, a user terminal, and a data tag server. In the disclosed method, the audio processing device associates a data tag in an audio to produce an associated audio. The audio playback device plays the associated audio as background music. The user terminal identified the associated audio in the background music and acquires associated data tag through a computer network. In the disclosed system and method, an audience can obtain product information from background music while enjoying music. The customers can thus quickly access to a large amount of product information. The disclosed audio based data tags distribution system has a simple structure and is widely applicable. The disclosed method can be easily implemented at low cost.

Claims

1. An audio based data tag distribution system, comprising:

an audio processing device configured to embed one or more segments of audio data with one or more data tags based on predefined rules to produce associated audio data, wherein the one or more data tags include a barcode or a two-dimensional code, wherein the audio processing device is further configured to receive user-end audio data from a user terminal and to search the user-end audio data for one or more data tags;

an audio playback device connected with the audio processing device and configured to receive the associated audio data and to output an acoustic wave corresponding to the associated audio data;

a user terminal, comprising;

a microphone,

an acoustic digital processor connected with the microphone, and

a network module connected with the acoustic digital processor,

wherein the microphone is configured to receive the acoustic wave from the audio playback device, wherein the acoustic digital processor is configured to convert the acoustic wave received by the microphone to user-end audio data, wherein the network module is connected with the audio processing device through a computer network and is configured to transmit the user-end audio data to the audio processing device, wherein the user terminal is configured to obtain the barcode or the two-dimensional code corresponding to the one or more data tags; and

a data tag server connected with the audio processing device and the user terminal through a computer network and configured to receive the barcode or two-dimensional code corresponding to the one or more data tags from the audio processing device and send the barcode or the two-dimensional code corresponding to the one or more data tags to the user terminal.

2. The audio based data tag distribution system of claim 1, wherein the audio processing device comprises:

a high-frequency audio processor configured to embed one or more sections of human indiscernible high frequency audio data with one or more data tags, the high-frequency audio processor being configured to receive the user-end audio data and to search for one or more data tags in the user-end audio data, wherein each of the one or more sections is characterized by a frequency that is not discernible by human ears; and

a mixing processor connected with the high-frequency audio processor and configured to mix the human indiscernible high frequency audio data with pre-stored human discernible audio data to produce the associated audio data.

3. The audio based data tag distribution system of claim 2, wherein the human indiscernible high frequency audio data is a frequency range from 16 kHz to 20 kHz.

4. The audio based data tag distribution system of claim 2, wherein the human indiscernible high frequency audio data comprise multiple sections each characterized by a different frequency not discernible to human ears.

5. The audio based data tag distribution system of claim 1, wherein the audio frequency processing device comprises:

an audio segmentation processor configured to segment audio data into multiple segments and embed one or more data tags with each of the multiple sections of the audio data to produce the associated audio data, the audio segment processor being configured to receive the user-end audio data and to search for one or more data tags based on the user-end audio data, wherein each of the multiple sections is characterized by a different frequency not discernible to human ears.

6. The audio based data tag distribution system of claim 5, wherein the audio segmentation processor is configured to segment the audio data according to syllables in the audio data.

7. The audio based data tag distribution system of claim 1, further comprising:

a wireless network access device configured to wireless communicate with the audio processing device, the user terminal, and the data tag server.

8. The audio based data tag distribution system of claim 7, wherein the wireless network access device is configured to communicate in wireless signals based on 2G, 3G, or 4G wireless communication protocols.

9. The audio based data tag distribution system of claim 7, wherein the wireless network access device is a wireless router configured to communicate in WiFi wireless signals.

10. The audio based data tag distribution system of claim 7, wherein the wireless network access device is characterized by a device identification code representing a location of the wireless network access device, wherein the wireless network access device is configured to receive the user-end audio data from the user terminal and to send the user-end audio data and the device identification code to the audio processing device, wherein the audio processing device is configured to determine whether the user terminal is wirelessly connected to the wireless network access device and to determine a position of the user terminal by identifying the device identification code, wherein the audio frequency processing device is configured to search for the one or more data tags in the user-end audio data if the user terminal is determined to be connected to the wireless network access device.

11. The audio based data tag distribution system of claim 1, wherein the audio playing device comprises a power amplifier and a speaker, wherein an input of the power amplifier is connected to an output of the audio processing device, wherein an output of the power amplifier is connected to an input of the speaker.

12. A computer-implemented method for distributing audio-based data tags, comprising the steps of:

1) embedding one or more segments of audio data with one or more data tags based on predefined rules by an audio processing device to produce associated audio data, wherein the one or more data tags include of a barcode or a two-dimensional code;

2) receiving the associated audio data from the audio processing device by an audio player device to output an acoustic wave corresponding to the associated audio data;

3) receiving the acoustic wave output by the audio playback device by a microphone in a user terminal; and

converting the acoustic wave to user-end audio data by an acoustic digital processors;

4) transmitting the user-end audio data from a network module in the user terminal to the audio processing device;

5) searching for one or more data tags in the user-end audio data by the audio frequency processing device; and

sending the barcode or two-dimensional code corresponding to the one or more data tags to a data tag server;

6) receiving the barcode or two-dimensional code corresponding to the one or more data tags by the data tag server; and

sending the one or more data tags from the data tag server to the user terminal; and

7) acquiring associated data by the user terminal over a computer network using the barcode or two-dimensional code corresponding to the one or more data tags received from the data tag server.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the audio frequency processing device comprises a high-frequency audio processor and a mixing processor, wherein step 1) comprises:

11-1) embedding one or more sections of human indiscernible high frequency audio data with one or more data tags by the high-frequency audio processor, wherein each of the one or more sections is characterized by a frequency that is not discernible by human ears;

11-2) mixing, by the mixing processor, the human indiscernible high frequency audio data with pre-stored human discernible audio data to produce the associated audio data.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein step 5) comprises:

51) receiving the user-end audio data by the high audio processor;

searching for one or more data tags in the user-end audio data; and

sending information about the one or more data tags to the data tag server.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the human indiscernible high frequency audio data is in a frequency range from 16 kHz to 20 kHz.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein the human indiscernible high frequency audio data comprise multiple sections each characterized by a different frequency not discernible to human ears.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the audio processing device includes an audio segmentation processor, wherein step 1) comprises:

12) segmenting the audio data into multiple segments; and

embedding one or more data tags with each of the multiple sections of the audio data to produce the associated audio data, wherein each of the multiple sections is characterized by a different frequency not discernible to human ears.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, wherein step 5) comprises:

52) receiving the user-end audio data by the audio segment processor;

searching for one or more data tags based on the user-end audio data; and

transmitting information about the one or more data tags to the data tag server.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 17, wherein the audio segmentation processor is configured to segment the audio data according to syllables in the audio data.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein a wireless network access device configured to wireless communicate with the audio processing device, the user terminal, and the data tag server, wherein step 4) comprises:

41) sending the user-end audio data from the network module in the user terminal via the wireless network access device to the audio processing device;

wherein step

     6) comprises;

61) receiving information about the one or more data tags by a data tag server from the audio processing device; and

sending the one or more data tags from the data tag server to the user terminal via the wireless network access device.

21. The computer-implemented method of claim 20, wherein the wireless network access device is characterized by a device identification code representing a location of the wireless network access device, wherein step 41) comprises:

41-1) receiving user-end audio data by the wireless network access device from the user terminal; and

sending the user-end audio data and the device identification code to the audio processing device; and

41-2) determining, by the audio processing device, whether the device identification code is associated with the wireless network access device before step

     5).

22. The computer-implemented method of claim 12, wherein the audio playing device comprises a power amplifier and a speaker, wherein step 2) comprises:

2-1) receiving the associated audio data from the audio processing device by the power amplifier; and

amplifying the associated audio data; and

2-2) outputting an acoustic wave based on the amplified associated audio data.